Little Black Dress
by Melissa7187
Summary: "Why did you kiss me?" Aubrey panted once they pulled away from each other, her brow knitted with worry and her face pale as it all set in. She had just kissed her best friend and she had liked it. Her life was officially a Katy Perry song, God help her. "Because", Chloe whispered, "no one who looks as gorgeous as you did tonight should end their evening without being kissed."


**A/N: This is something that I wrote over on Tumblr and it got a pretty good reception, so I thought that I would share it on here. This is inspired by the lovely song by Sara Bareilles entitled "Little Black Dress." Enjoy!**

* * *

_I got my little black dress on  
And if I tell myself that nothing's wrong  
This doesn't have to be a sad song  
Not with my little black dress on_

_Little Black Dress- Sara Bareilles_

* * *

She looked good in that dress. Aubrey Posen wasn't one to be vain, but she knew this fact. This was a thing that was true and as she spun in front of the floor-length mirror and watched the fabric of the dress fly along with her, she began to think that maybe this date wasn't going to be the worst thing ever. She looked hot, the restaurant had great food, and Teddy was a decent enough guy. He was a tax attorney with the firm and while she knew that he was the absolute worst person to have a conversation with, he was cute enough and she was pretty sure that he wasn't a serial killer. Plus, it would get her father off of her back and that's reason enough to suffer for a few hours. So, while she would have **loved **to climb onto the couch with Chloe and finish off their queue on Netflix, she was prepared to suffer for the common good.

Chloe had insisted that every girl needed a "little black dress" during a weekend shopping excursion a few months back and had practically dragged her into the changing room while thrusting the garment into her hands. She had whined and complained as she slid her clothing off and stood in her underwear, but Chloe wouldn't take no for an answer and so, she sucked it up and put the dress on. It hugged her in all the right places and was the perfect length for a respectable woman, falling right above her knees and showing just enough skin. The back was cut out and while the cool air of the shop hitting her skin had been surprising at first, it soon became kind of nice. And so, while she wasn't one for extravagant purchases (this was decidedly **not** an outfit that would be acceptable to wear at her father's law firm), she had purchased it and tucked it safely in the back of her closet. She had almost forgotten about it, but tonight she needed something special to push her out of the house and this was it. If she was suffering, she was going to do it in style.

She ran her fingers through her hair as she checked herself out for a final time and decided that she looked acceptable. Not too dressy that it would look like she had just come from the office, but not too casual that she looked like she hadn't tried at all. Her hair was perfect, straightened and parted to the side as it fell easily on her shoulders, and her makeup was subtle and she looked good. It took a lot of work to look this good, but she was pleased.

Maybe it would actually be fun.

* * *

"You look really hot, Bree." Chloe mumbled from behind her biochemistry textbook, blinking heavily as her eyes adjusted to something that _wasn't_ the tiny text of the huge book. She was three weeks away from graduating from medical school and while she would have loved to accompany her best friend out on a night on the town, she had finals to attend to and there was no way that she was flunking out of school now. Not when she was fully prepared to start her residency at the **best** hospital in the city and finally ready to cut the purse strings and provide for herself. Getting drunk could wait.

"Oh, thanks!" Aubrey looked up from her glass of wine and smiled at her exhausted best friend. Her hair was in a messy ponytail and she was swimming in a huge sweatshirt from their days at Barden. Behind her thick-rimmed reading glasses, her eyes were tiny and she wanted to tell her to go to bed, but she knew that she would never listen to her. She had been in her position not that long ago with law school and she knew that nothing could stop her from pulling an all-nighter. Still, she wished that she would relax a little. "I wish you could come with me, Chlo. Are you sure that you can't go?"

"I have finals. Do you _really_ want me to fail my last class and have to do this all over again next semester?" Chloe snapped, slamming her book shut and cocking an eyebrow at Aubrey as she dared her to answer. When Aubrey simply shook her head, Chloe smiled and quipped "That's what I thought! So, where are you heading out to tonight? You look really nice and you don't usually dress up like this when you go out."

"I have a date, with Ted Richards from the accounting department. My dad actually set us up."

When Chloe simply smirked, Aubrey's face fell a little and she felt her stomach sink. Sure, he didn't sound like the most exciting of suitors, but that didn't make him a bad guy. Besides, she had listened to Chloe sniffle over losers and heartbreakers since freshman year, so she really had no place to judge her. Teddy was nice and that was all that mattered. Chemistry or an actual physical attraction could come later.

"He's taking me out to dinner and then we're going dancing downtown. He called ahead and made reservations and everything. Doesn't he sound nice?"

"Are you sure that he's not gay?"

"Excuse me…?" Aubrey trailed off, furrowing her brow as she tried to figure out what Chloe was getting at. _Who said anything about him being gay?_

"He's a grown man that willingly suggested to go dancing with you." Chloe bit her lip, trying not to laugh as Aubrey's face fell and she started to clench her fists. _This was not going to end well_. "What restaurant are you and the lucky gentleman going to tonight?"

"Salvatore's. Have you ever been there?"

Chloe grinned, shaking her head and trying her hardest not to stand up and hug the girl. Aubrey had no idea what she was getting herself into and while it was adorable, she felt _kind of _bad for her. Especially if she actually had an interest in this guy. Aubrey deserved to be happy, but she was pretty sure that this was **not** going to work out.

"That's the gayest restaurant in town. It's right across from The Link, the gay club that has karaoke on Thursdays, and the place where we saw drag queens for Stephanie's birthday last year is a block away. He's taking you on a date in the gay district, Bree."

"No he is not!" Aubrey exclaimed, draining the rest of her glass of wine and slamming it into the sink. This **could not** be happening. Not again. "I'm sure he doesn't know that. Maybe he just likes to dance! Men can enjoy dancing _without_ being gay. I thought that **you **of all people would understand that."

"Touché." Chloe smiled, shaking her head at Aubrey's direct attack on her sexuality. She had never officially defined herself by any one term and it had been a frequent source of joking between the pair. For someone that hooked up with both sexes frequently, she really shouldn't have been so close-minded but she was positive that she was right. There was no way that this guy was straight. She'd bet on it.

"Please let me set you up next time, Bree. Your dad has non-existent gaydar and this is the second time that he's set you up with a gay guy. I know plenty of nice guys that would love to date a successful and beautiful lawyer. Ooh, what about Jacob from class!?"

"The drug dealer?"

"He quit doing that after he got out of rehab." Chloe shrugged, not seeing what the big deal was. It wasn't like he had ever been arrested for it and once he got cleaned up a little, he was actually a very sweet and responsible guy. "He's **really** nice and super cute. Plus, he's _definitely_ not gay, so there's that tiny plus."

Aubrey just shook her head, not understanding what went through that brain sometimes. Chloe could be lovely and charming one moment and then a complete idiot at the drop of a hat. Usually it was charming, but not tonight. Especially now that she was certain that her father had set her up with a very gay young man. _How did this keep happening_?

She shook the thoughts from her head though and picked up her purse, swinging it over her shoulder and giving Chloe a curt nod before heading towards the door. She was already running late and she wasn't sticking around here tonight if she was just going to be teased constantly. She had _some_ self confidence and it certainly wasn't going to be improved if she stayed here.

"Good night, Chloe." She mumbled while shaking her head and opening up the front door. She lingered for a few moments but left as Chloe's soft words crept across the expanse of the apartment and entered her ears.

"Have a good time, Bree."

_Fat chance of that._

* * *

She had been stood up.

She had checked in with the maître-d' at the front of the restaurant an hour ago and had been nursing a variety of drinks while she waited for him to show up. A rum and coke to take the edge of waiting off, a screw driver when she saw a cute couple hit the tiny dance floor in the corner of the restaurant, and a beer that came compliments of the bartender who shot her a sympathetic smile.

She was taking a sip from her martini when the text finally came in and had to stop herself from crushing the stem of the glass as the anger surged through her veins. _That son of a bitch!_

_Teddy (8:50 p.m.): Bree, sorry that I didn't reach you beforehand but something came up. I saw my old boyfriend outside and we hit it off! Let's go dancing next week, hope I didn't keep you waiting. _

She was going to **kill** her father. Were there no straight men working at the firm and why did she keep letting him set her up? The next time his number came up on her phone, she was ignoring him. That was how this whole mess started to begin with. Let him fire her, she really didn't care.

She finished off the rest of her drink and motioned for the waitress to come over so she could pay. The small, sad smile that the young woman shot her nearly sent her through the roof and she simply scoffed while shoving a wad of cash into her hand and gathering her stuff so she could call a cab and go home.

As she left, she spotted the same couple from before kissing in a secluded corner and just shook her head as tears shot to her eyes and burnt. She was never going out again.

Another wasted night in the life of Aubrey Posen.

* * *

"What happened?!" Chloe exclaimed as Aubrey slammed the apartment door behind her and dropped her high heels on the floor with a clunk. She was home a lot earlier than Chloe had been expecting and from the look on her face, she hadn't enjoyed herself that evening. "How was the date?"

"Awful", Aubrey mumbled while sinking onto the couch next to Chloe and pushing her text book off of the couch before she reached for the remote for the DVD player. Chloe just looked at her with wide eyes as she started to bend down to pick up her book, but Aubrey stopped her with a firm hand on her wrist and an eyebrow arched in warning. "Don't you dare. I'm miserable, you're stressed out, and we're having movie night."

"Do you want to talk about it?" Chloe asked while reaching next to her and flipping the switch on the small lamp next to the couch to bathe the room in darkness. "Did he do something wrong?"

"I **don't** want to talk about it", Aubrey replied tersely while cycling through the queue until she landed on the next movie in their marathon of chick flicks. "Now, no more talking. We're watching Clueless and I can't quote the lines if you're asking me about my night from hell."

"Whatever you say, Bree", Chloe mumbled while pulling the girl closer to her and putting the blanket that had been around her shoulders onto their laps as the opening credits started to play.

Some things were better left unsaid.

* * *

"I just really wanted to dance!"

She had progressed from pouting to complaining in a span of thirty minutes, a new record. The movie had been ignored once Dionne and Murray's fighting had sent her off on a rant about how all men were pigs and how she was never dating again. With some urging from Chloe, she had finally opened up and revealed the events of the evening and tried her hardest to ignore Chloe's sympathetic eyes as she turned the DVD player off and slid her heaping bowl of popcorn across the couch as a peace offering.

"You can go dancing any night, Aub", Chloe soothed her while taking a handful of the buttery snack into her hands and stuffing it into her mouth. "I'll go with you and we'll have the best time. Besides, hanging out with your best friend is better than having dinner with some idiot that was dumb enough to stand someone as great as you up."

"Can you _not_ talk with your mouth full?" Aubrey snipped, rolling her eyes and running a hand through her hair that had long since fallen flat. When Chloe's face fell and she gave her a tiny nod, Aubrey instantly felt bad for taking her emotions out on the one person that had always been there for her. She hadn't said 'I told you so' and laughed in her face as she recounted the story of her ruined evening. Instead, she had put M&Ms into the popcorn, even though she hated them, and wordlessly opened up wine coolers as she let Aubrey spill her guts. Chloe loved her and she didn't deserve any of her anger or harsh words. She only deserved the best.

"I'm sorry for being mean, I'm just…I looked **good** tonight and it was wasted. I was at that stupid restaurant and there were all of these cute couples just enjoying themselves and I was completely alone. Am I ever going to find someone who actually likes me?"

"I'm sure there's someone out there that loves you", Chloe whispered while reaching out for her hand and threading their fingers together. "Someone that thinks that you're beautiful and perfect and funny. Someone who would have danced with you all night and held your hand and walked you home. You just haven't found them yet."

"What if I never do? What if I'm always going to be alone?" Aubrey's voice was soft and emotional as she shook her head and blinked the tears out of her eyes. She wasn't getting any younger and tonight was just another example of how her personal life was completely non-existent. Outside of Chloe and some girls from work that weren't complete airheads, she was alone and that was scary.

"What if-"

Chloe's lips were pressed against hers and the words soon slipped away, completely discarded as Chloe kissed her and made everything disappear for a moment. All she could think of was how soft they were and how they tasted of lip balm and strawberry daiquiri. How they were sweet and bitter at the same time and how she never wanted the kiss to end.

What the hell had happened to her tonight?

* * *

"Why did you kiss me?" Aubrey panted once they pulled away from each other, her brow knitted with worry and her face pale as it all set in. She had just kissed her best friend and she had liked it. Her life was officially a Katy Perry song, God help her.

"Because…" Chloe trailed off, her face reddening as uncertainty kicked in. She was never one to be afraid, but right now, she was terrified. What if she lost the one constant in her life and the most important person to her over a stupid kiss? She was an idiot.

"Because, why?" Aubrey's voice was soft, almost comforting, as she reached out for Chloe's hand and brushed their fingers together, not ready for the intimacy of linking them again.

"Because no one who looks as gorgeous as you did tonight should end their evening without being kissed."

Aubrey was silent for a moment as Chloe's words sunk in. She thought that she was beautiful? Where was this all coming from? She had never expressed interest in her before and Aubrey wasn't even sure how she felt about the idea of being kissed by a woman. Sure, it had been **really** nice, but that didn't mean that it was something that she was going to do all the time. _Then why can't I stop looking at her lips and thinking about how good they felt pressed against mine?_

It felt right. It shouldn't have been a real surprise to her after having been infatuated with the girl for nearly eight years now. It was impossible not to fall in love with Chloe Beale. She was intoxicating and sweet and the best kind of friend. She had been there for her darkest moment and celebrated with her during the sweetest victories. It wasn't why she had fallen for the girl or how it had happened; it was a matter of when. How had it taken her this long to finally figure it out? To understand that the butterflies weren't nerves or anxiety, but love.

_I'm in love with my best friend._

"Chloe-"

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have-"

Aubrey's lips crashed against hers, the words disregarded and whimpered into the mouth of her best friend as their lips met once again. It was warm and tender and slow, the best kind of first kiss. Most of all though, it felt right. The perfect ending to an evening from hell.

She was going to wear that dress more often.


End file.
